The field of the present invention pertains to audio-video systems. More particularly, the present invention pertains to implementing standardized software based interaction between devices coupled in a home audio video network.
A typical home audiovisual equipment set up includes a number of components. For example, a radio receiver, a CD player, a pair of speakers, a television, a VCR, a tape deck, and alike. Each of these components are connected to each other via a set of wires. One component is usually the central component of the home audiovisual system. This is usually the radio receiver, or the tuner. The tuner has a number of specific inputs for coupling the other components. The tuner has a corresponding number of control buttons or control switches which provide a limited degree of controllability and interoperability for the components. The control buttons and control switches are usually located on the front of the tuner. In many cases, some, or all, of these buttons and switches are duplicated on a hand held remote control unit. A user controls the home audiovisual system by manipulating the buttons and switches on the front of the tuner, or alternatively, manipulating buttons on the hand held remote control unit.
This conventional home audiovisual system paradigm has become quite popular. As consumer electronic devices become more capable and more complex, the demand for the latest and most capable devices has increased. As new devices emerge and become popular, the devices are purchased by consumers and xe2x80x9cpluggedxe2x80x9d into their home audiovisual systems. Generally, the latest and most sophisticated of these devices are quite expensive (e.g., digital audio tape recorders, DVD players, digital camcorders, and alike). As a consumer purchases new devices, most often, the new device is simply plugged into the system alongside the pre-existing, older devices (e.g., cassette tape deck, CD player, and the like). The new device is plugged into an open input on the back of the tuner, or some other device couple to the tuner. The consumer (e.g., the user) controls the new device via the control buttons on the tuner, via the control buttons and control switches on the front of the new device itself, or via an entirely new, separate, respective remote control unit for the new device.
As the number of new consumer electronics devices for the home audiovisual system have grown and as the sophistication and capabilities of these devices have increased, a number of problems with the conventional paradigm have emerged. One such problem is incompatibility between devices in the home audiovisual system. Consumer electronic devices from one manufacturer often couple to an audiovisual system in a different manner than similar devices from another manufacturer. For example, a tuner made by one manufacturer may not properly couple with a television made by another manufacturer. Within conventional home audiovisual systems, there is not a standardized way of coupling devices such that they interact predictably and reliably. This is especially true in the case of coupling devices from different manufacturers.
In addition, where one device is much newer than another device additional incompatibilities may exist. For example, a new device might incorporate hardware (e.g., specific inputs and outputs) which enables more sophisticated remote control functions. This hardware may be unusable with older devices within the system. Or, for example, older tuners may lack suitable inputs for some newer devices (e.g., mini-disc players, VCRs, etc.), or may lack enough inputs for all devices of the system.
Another problem is the lack of functional support for differing devices within an audiovisual system. For example, even though a television may support advanced sound formats (e.g., surround sound, stereo, etc.), if an older less capable tuner does not support such functionality, the benefits of the advanced sound formats can be lost.
Another problem is the lack of standardized methods of extending the user interface functionality of the devices within the home audiovisual system. For example, conventional prior art devices are not designed to have their user interfaces extended with new features after they are purchased by the enduser. Consequently, the functionality of less sophisticated is typically fixed by the manufacturer as the devices are fabricated. Often the only option available to the user to add new capability is the purchase of a new, more sophisticated device.
While the emergence of networking and interface technology (e.g., IEEE 1394 serial communication bus and the wide spread adoption of digital systems) offers prospects for correcting these problems, there is still no coherent, open, extensible architecture which can provide for intelligent, self configuring, easily extensible devices or AV systems. There are no standardized methods of extending the user interface functionality of devices in a home audiovisual system. For example, while various solutions involving the use of IEEE 1394 as the basis of an AV system, none provide for the extensibility of the user interface capabilities of the various devices coupled within a home AV system over the life times of the devices. There are no standardized, easily extensible methods for augmenting the user interface capability and functionality of simpler devices as new, more sophisticated devices are added within a home AV system.
Accordingly, what required is a new architecture for a home audiovisual system which corrects the interoperability and functionality problems of the conventional system. What is required is a new architecture for an open, interoperating, audiovisual system for devices within a home network which provides for easy extensibility of the features and functions of the devices. What is required is an architecture which allows devices from any manufacturer to function seamlessly with a home audiovisual system, and which enables other devices from any other manufacturer to augment their functionality. What is required is an architecture which is extensible, and can be readily modified and advanced as market requirements and technology change. What is further required is a standardized, easily extensible method for augmenting the user interface capability and functionality of simpler devices as new, more sophisticated devices are added within a home AV system. The present invention provides a novel solution to these requirements.
In one embodiment, the present invention is implemented as a software based process for dynamically building a graphical user interface (GUI) of one or more target devices in a home audio video network. The system includes a computer system within a host device coupled to the home audio video network, the computer system having a processor coupled to a memory via a bus. The computer system functions as the execution platform for implementing the software based process. Each of the target devices are also coupled to the network and are configured to interact with the host device via the network for user input/interface. The computer system is configured to implement an overall GUI for the one or more target devices coupled to the home audio video network by executing software based process stored in the memory. Upon instantiation, the software causes the computer system to dynamically build the overall GUI, thereby allowing user interface/interaction with each of the target devices from the single overall user interface.
The building of the overall GUI is performed by the host device dynamically, for example, as the host device and one or more target devices are powered up and initialized, or as a new target device is coupled to the network (e.g., hot plugged). In so doing, the host device need not be preprogrammed with specific information regarding the particular GUI requirements of the one or more target devices. As new target devices are added to the network, the host device can automatically reconfigure the overall GUI to utilize the specific capabilities and functions of the new device as a new overall GUI is built.
The host device is configured to implement an overall GUI for multiple functions. In addition to implementing an overall GUI for the one or more devices, in a case where a single device includes multiple functional sub-devices (e.g., a digital camcorder having an image capture sub-device and a storage media sub-device included therein), the host device can tailor the overall GUI to represent the functions and capabilities of each of the functional sub-devices.
In one embodiment, the specific steps of the software based process executed by the computer system of the host device include enumerating units (e.g., devices) on the network, wherein each unit is a software based representation of a target device. The subunits (e.g., functional sub-devices) within each unit are then enumerated, wherein the subunits are software based representations of discrete functions of the target device. The requirements for a GUI is then determined for each subunit. The computer system then builds an overall GUI framework by aggregating the requirements. Respective portions of the overall GUI framework are assigned to each subunit discovered during the enumeration. Subsequently, a completed overall GUI interface is rendered on a display (e.g., an LCD display on the target device, a separate television monitor coupled to the target device, or the like) for the user, wherein each subunit renders its respective portion of the overall GUI interface.
In so doing, process of the present invention provides a home audio visual (AV) network with a standardized architecture for inter-operating CE (consumer electronic) devices in a home network. The interoperability aspects of the present invention define an architectural model, that provides a single consistent overall GUI that allows CE devices to inter-operate and function seamlessly within the user""s home AV system. The dynamic building of an overall GUI incorporating the GUI requirements of the various devices and sub-devices implements a method of extending a base set of features of existing CE devices with new features and functionality, as new features and new CE devices are deployed within the home AV network.